Venus is the second planet from the Sun.[9] It is a terrestrial planet because it has a solid, rocky surface like other planets in the inner solar system. Astronomers have known Venus for thousands of years. The ancient Romans named it after their goddessVenus. Venus is the brightest thing in the night sky except for the Moon. It is sometimes called the morning star or the evening star as it is brightest just before the sun comes up in the morning, and just after the sun goes down in the evening. Venus comes closer to the earth than any other planet does.

The thick atmosphere has made it hard to see the surface, and until the twenty-first century many people thought things might live there. The pressure on Venus' surface is 92 times that of Earth. Venus has no moons. Venus spins very slowly on its axis and it spins in the opposite direction to the other planets.

Venus is a terrestrial planet so, like the Earth, its surface is made of rock. Venus is much hotter than Earth. All the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere acts like a blanket, trapping heat from the Sun. This effect is called the greenhouse effect and it is very strong on Venus. This makes the surface of Venus the hottest of any planet's surface in the Solar System with an estimatedaveragetemperature of 480 °C (896.0 °F).[11][12] This is hot enough to meltlead or zinc.

Venus has no oceans because it is much too hot for water. Venus' surface is a dry desert. It is about 80% smooth, rockyplains. Two higher areas called continents make up the north and south of the planet. The north is called Ishtar Terra and the south is called Aphrodite Terra. They are named after the Babylonian and Greek goddesses of love.[13]

Venus can sometimes be seen passing between the sun and earth. Venus looks like a black dot when seen through a special telescope. These "transits" happen in pairs eight years apart. Then it's more than a hundred years to the next pair.